NBA

Whiteside leads Heat to 106-101 win over Bucks

ABS-CBN Sports on Jan 18, 2018 12:07 PM

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hassan Whiteside had a season-high 27 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks to lead the Miami Heat to a 106-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night (Thursday, PHL time).

Goran Dragic and Kelly Olynyk added 15 points apiece to help Miami rebound from a loss at Chicago on Monday that snapped the Heat's season-high seven-game winning streak.

Whiteside, averaging 13.8 points coming in, shot 10-for-12 from the floor. He got his 600th career block in the third quarter.

Olynyk scored 10 points in the final quarter to help his team avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since Dec. 3 (Dec. 4, PHL time, vs Golden State) and Dec. 6 (Dec. 7, PHL time, vs San Antonio).

Khris Middleton had 25 points to lead Milwaukee, which lost to Miami for the second time in four days.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Bucks shot 43.4 percent In a 97-79 loss at the Heat on Sunday (Monday, PHL time), the Bucks were 32 percent from the floor — their lowest percentage in a regular-season game since March 22, 2013.

Miami used a 7-0 run late in the game to take control.

Whiteside, whose previous season best was 26 points, slammed home an alley-oop dunk to begin the run and it was capped by two free throws from James Johnson for a 100-93 lead with 2:34 remaining.

Two free throws by Middleton got Milwaukee to 102-98 with 43 seconds to go.

But then after a missed shot by Miami's Justise Winslow on the next possession, the loose ball was grabbed by both Antetokounmpo and Whiteside, which led to the jump ball.

Antetokounmpo jumped from the free-throw line and swatted the ball out of bounds under the Heat basket. That led to two free throws by Dragic for a 104-98 lead with 12 seconds left.

Middleton answered with a three-pointer to trim the deficit to 104-101 with 10.6 seconds remaining before Wayne Ellington clinched the win with two free throws with 9.5 seconds left.

TIP-INS

Heat: Starter Tyler Johnson did not play after he sprained his left ankle in the third quarter Monday. ... Miami has three more road games left on a five-game trip.

Bucks: The team already has lost three home games this month after suffering a total of three of them in November and December.

UP NEXT

Heat: At Brooklyn on Friday night (Saturday, PHL time).

Bucks: At Philadelphia on Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) for the teams' first meeting of the season.